Opinions varied on what to expect from the first Japanese position player in the major leagues. There were a number of skeptics as Ichiro went about his business in the Valley of the Sun, his every move scrutinized by an army of reporters, most of them from Japan.

Seventeen years later, there’s a new Japanese sensation in Arizona — this one a starting pitcher and designated hitter. Shohei Ohtani, who has been called the Babe Ruth of Japan, is baseball’s next big thing.

He would have looked good in Mariner blue, but you won’t find him in Peoria, where the M’s train. Ohtani signed with the Angels in December and my pals and I caught a glimpse of him last week in Tempe where a horde of reporters, most of them from Japan, had converged.

It was the second day of workouts for pitchers and catchers. We planned to watch the Mariners in Peoria, but were turned away at the entrance gate. They weren’t allowing fans that day because of soggy field conditions.

So we headed 22 miles south, and arrived at Tempe Diablo Stadium, where the fields were dry and our timing was perfect. We walked towards one of the back practice fields, where manager Mike Scioscia was putting catchers through a series of drills. A few minutes later, all of the pitchers except Ohtani headed back to the clubhouse after training on an adjacent field.

Ohtani pulled a black bat out of a white golf-like bag and jogged over to join the catchers for batting practice.

Shades of the graceful Ichiro immediately came to mind.

Everything about him, from the way he wears his uniform on a supple 6-foot-4 frame, to the way he swings the bat from the left side, screams: ATHLETE.

The ball jumps off his bat. He took about 40 hacks the day we watched him during BP and about 12 cleared the fence — most to left or center. At one point, Ohtani launched five home runs on six swings — including four straight. Unless I missed one, the five catchers participating in the same BP session combined to hit one home run.

Chuck Stark(Photo: -)

When Scioscia, through Ohtani’s translator, asked him to hit the ball to the opposite field, the left-handed swinging player hit line drives all over the place, including three straight that bounced off the protective screen in front of the pitcher.

Ohtani, 23, glides when he runs. And he smiles a lot.

Did I say Ohtani would have looked sweet in Mariner blue?

The Mariners were understandably aggressive in their pursuit of the Japanese superstar. They went all in. When the Mariners met with Ohtani and his representatives in Seattle, Edgar Martinez pulled out a Seattle jersey with No. 11 and the Japanese player’s name on the back. That was Martinez’s retired number, and the same number Ohtani wore for the Nippon-Ham Fighters.

Considering general manager Jerry DiPoto’s ability to put together deals and the Mariners' past history with Japanese players — Ichiro, Kenji Jojimia, Kazuhiro Sasaki and Hisashi Iwakuma — there were plenty of reasons to be optimistic about Seattle’s chances of landing a two-way star who throws 100 mph fastballs and has the potential to hit 30 homers in the majors.

Ohtani hasn’t given a definitive reason why he chose the Angels over his other six finalists. The No. 11 evidently didn’t mean much to him. Ohtani wears No. 17 with the Angels, who retired Jim Fregosi’s No. 11 years ago.

Scioscia plans to use Ohtani in a six-man rotation, and perhaps as the DH two or three times a week. Pinch-hitting and even pinch-running roles could also be carved out. For now, don’t expect to see Ohtani playing in the outfield.

Meanwhile, back to the Mariners, where the early news hasn’t been positive as they prepare to play in a division that includes the ultra-talented world champion Houston Astros and now an Angels squad that features Mike Trout, the best player in baseball, and Ohtani, who just might be Trout’s heir apparent as the game’s best.

Ryon Healy, Seattle’s projected starting first baseman, was the first casualty. He had surgery to remove a bone spur from his right hand.

Erasmo Ramirez, a projected starter in an already thin pool of starting pitchers, has been shut down for a couple of weeks because of a lat strain.

Outfielder Kyle Lewis, the Mariners’ top prospect — the 11th overall pick in the 2016 draft — had a second surgical procedure on his knee, which has given him trouble since major surgery just a month into his pro career.

And Felix Hernandez, the one-time ace, reported to camp and said, “I don’t have to prove anything” after posting a 6-5 record with a 4.36 ERA while pitching just 86.2 innings in 2017.

You don’t need to be reminded that this is a franchise with the longest active postseason drought in American professional sports. The Mariners haven’t been to the playoffs since Ichiro’s rookie season.

Even manager Lou Piniella was unsure about Ichiro during that spring of 2001. Things turned out OK, though. Ichiro hit .350, stole 56 bases, started in the All-Star game, was voted the American League MVP, and the Mariners won 116 games.

I don’t think anybody expects Ohtani to be a 20-game winner, or hit .300 with 25 home runs, but I’ll be curious how his rookie season plays out. Baseball’s been around a long time, and nobody, unless you count what Babe Ruth did for the Boston Red Sox in 1918 and 1919, has attempted to do what he’s going to do at the major-league level.

Unless he’s injured, Ohtani will be in uniform nine times (May 4-5-6, June 11-12-13, July 3-4-5) at Safeco Field this summer. Seattle travels to Anaheim for 10 more games against the Halos. Ohtani’s gonna be fun to watch.

Too bad he won’t be wearing Mariner blue.

Chuck Stark is the former sports editor of The Sun. Reach him at chuckstark00@gmail.com.